Officials tout infrastructure program

A Columbia resident bought his home on West 17th Street in 2008. In the following years, he repainted the house, replaced its piping and practically rebuilt it.

A Columbia resident bought his home on West 17th Street in 2008. In the following years, he repainted the house, replaced its piping and practically rebuilt it.

But there’s one thing Joe Krueger can’t fix that’s keeping the house from completion: the sidewalks outside his front door.

Since 2009, Krueger has asked city officials to replace 14 squares of cracked, crumbling and caved sidewalk leading from the start of his neighbor’s driveway to the end of his own. He’s received denials every time, with officials saying there’s just not enough money to get anything done.

But Krueger said something has to be done. Besides making his house look unfinished, the sidewalks are dangerous for people who routinely use them.

“Tell me if you’d want to walk down that sidewalk at night,” Krueger said.

On Tuesday, however, city officials offered a glimmer of hope for Krueger and other residents who have complained about broken sidewalks and routine flooding for the past few years.

At a Columbia City Council meeting, City Manager Tony Massey and Planning Director Norman Wright introduced a “Columbia Works” Public Infrastructure Improvement Program that would fund $1.8 million worth of projects during the next three years.

The program would be funded with a 3-cent property tax increase Massey told the council about previously at a May meeting. The 3-cent increase would be an addition to a 10-cent increase proposed to fund city employee salary raises and renovations to a new police station, taking the property tax rate total up to $1.44 per $100 of assessed value. The current tax rate is $1.31 per $100.

City officials discussed implementing a stormwater utility fee to pay for flood-reduction projects earlier this year, but council members said they were not ready to start a new fee at this time.

Council members said they were still interested in completing infrastructure projects that have been put off for years, even after turning down the fee, so Massey and other city staff suggested the 3-cent increase.

The increase would likely remain in future years as the city pays off debt for the $1.8 million loan it would take out to complete the projects, Massey said.

Massey added that much of the work on the projects could be completed in-house, which would save the city about $540,000 by not contracting with outside companies.

As of now, city officials have identified about $700,000 worth of projects that residents have voiced concerns about, and Massey said the remaining $1.1 million could be used for additional work.

The identified projects include replacing at least five culverts, studying Bigby Creek to determine how to reduce flooding and repairing sidewalks on at least 10 roads. Sidewalk replacements on 17th Street and Highland Avenue, where Krueger lives, are on the list of improvements.

Massey said the projects are spread across the city’s five wards and would affect about half of the neighborhoods.

“No one likes property tax increases,” he said. “But folks will be able to see what they’re getting for their tax dollar.”

Wright said work on the projects would begin as soon as the council approves the increase, if it’s passed. Updates on their progress would be available on the city’s website.

The city would also have a logo at each construction site signifying that the project falls under the infrastructure program, Massey said.

City council members will vote on the tax increase, along with the 2013-2014 budget, at their Thursday meeting at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall.